Arsenal players claim Lingard celebration motivated them to defeat United

Jesse Lingard’s goal celebration in Arsenal’s recent FA Cup defeat to Manchester United acted was a motivation for the Gunners as they secured victory in Sunday’s Premier League clash between the top-four rivals. Goalkeeper Bernd Leno and striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang claimed after the 2-0 win that the memory of Lingard moonwalking at the Emirates Stadium in January gave added incentive to secure three points on Sunday. A Granit Xhaka strike and an Aubameyang penalty saw Arsenal end Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten 12-game domestic streak since taking caretaker charge at Old Trafford in December.

The win allowed Arsenal to leapfrog United into fourth place, providing a further twist to Champions League qualification during a weekend when Tottenham and Chelsea dropped points. Lingard celebrated a goal in United’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win at Arsenal earlier in the year by dancing in front of the Gunners supporters. The England international, who also scored twice in a league clash in north London last season, further irked Arsenal fans by posting his recent celebration on Instagram with the location set as ‘Dancefloor’. Mesut Ozil appeared to reference Lingard in a post-match tweet which read: “Dancefloor huh?! Superb performance! Brilliant result! Thank you Emirates Stadium! Proud to be a Gunner!”